1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to extruded plastic materials for covering wood or cement surfaces of boat docks and residential decks, and, more particularly, to providing such extruded plastic materials with surfaces preventing slip and fall accidents under wet conditions.
2. Summary of the Background Information
Many boat docks and residential decks are comprised of a wooden floor, made of individual planks, nailed in place over a wooden framework. One problem with this type of construction arises from the fact that the upper surface of the floor is exposed to ambient conditions which cause relatively rapid deterioration of the wood. In particular, the ultraviolet rays of sunlight cause deterioration of the wood near its surface, and moisture from dew, rain, or in the case of a boat dock, from splashing, aids in the initiation of rotting. While chemical preservatives often lengthen the usefulness of the wood flooring, the wood continues to deteriorate into a condition requiring replacement. During this process of deterioration, the appearance of the wood surfaces becomes aesthetically undesirable, and the flooring may become dangerous due to splintering and even collapsing. Thus, what is needed is a structure for covering the flooring of wood boat docks and residential decks to prevent deterioration of the wood. Such a structure would be especially useful if it could be used to cover wood flooring which has already been damaged by ambient exposure.
The patent literature includes a number of descriptions of configurations of extruded plastic materials for covering boat docks and residential decks. In some of these prior art configurations, elongated extruded sections are individually required to correspond to underlying planks, for example, with the extruded sections including flanges extending downward between the underlying planks. In some prior art configurations, mounting structures, including individual screw heads, must be covered by additional individual parts, increasing the cost and time required for installation of the materials. While adhesive bonding agents may be used to attach surfaces of prior-art plastic structures to adjacent wooden surfaces, it is noted that bonding agents often fail to bond securely to the smooth surfaces of such plastic structures.